Last week on the eve of the World Cup, we asked readers to share who they are rooting for in the global game. Do you root for your home country? Who’s your second team? And what’s one team that you absolutely can’t bring yourself to cheer for?

Predictably, most people indicated that root for their home country. The majority of those who responded were from the United States, and many reported a second team based on either family ancestry or an experience spent living abroad.

Mike from California wrote that when not supporting USA, he’s cheering for Spain and Argentina:

“I have been a massive FC Barcelona fan since studying abroad there during the 2010 World Cup. Watching each of those games as Catalonia (often anti-Spain) came to love the eventual champions due to the influence of their style of play on La Roja was a magical experience. That said, Lionel Messi needs this as much as LeBron James needed his first title. Club accolades aside, the old guard (former players who are always available for a quote and journalists above 40) won’t accept him as the greatest ever without a World Cup, even though the competition is more similar to an NCAA Tournament than the NBA-style club seasons which tend to produce accurate winners. Messi winning a title on the soil of his greatest rival would finally secure the approval rating he has long deserved.”

Meredith from Texas wrote about an experience in Ghana that made her cheer for the Black Stars:

“They’re a strong team that deserves a win. Last year, I was in Takoradi, Ghana, a small industrial port town for the Ghana v. Egypt qualifier and it was electric. Sitting with the port workers watching the game on a TV that had no sound, it was so exciting when the workers, radios glued to their ears would cheer, and minutes later the goal would be scored on screen. I’m not a consistent follower of the sport and so this brought me back to the reason why soccer is so great to watch: the people you watch it with. Those Ghanians and their passion make me want to cheer for them as well.”

The country most people listed as their second squad was Germany, with 17 votes, followed by Italy and Brazil. Many expressed a fondness for the way the Brazilians play the game. “Brazilian football has always been one of the biggest charms of football styles,” wrote Nawfal from Malaysia. However, the Seleção also has rankled many, as Brazil was also the team respondents despise the most, followed by Mexico.

Despite their status as a minnow in the sea of international soccer, Iran recorded the third-most negative votes. The 43rd-ranked “Team Melli” has never advanced out of the group stage in three prior World Cup appearances, and yet they drew the ire of several American respondents, one Canadian and one Nigerian.

Rubia Balbi of Brazil displayed a friendlier side of soccer in declaring her second side allegiance to Argentina. “Although it’s one of Brazil’s archrival[s] when it comes to soccer, especially Cups, they are our ‘hermanos’ in South America, I’m a big fan of Messi and, besides, I have lots of friends from Argentina.” (Just don’t expect her to root for Spain.)

SPORTS, THE JOURNAL WAY

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